Friday, June 22, 2001

Law school dean plans to step down Peter Glenn to teach full time after guiding Dickinson-PennState merger

David Wenner

Of Our Carlisle Bureau

CARLISLE --DickinsonSchoolofLaw Dean Peter Glenn, who guided the school's merger with PennState University, will step down at the end of the 2001-2002 academic year.

"Clearly the most memorable accomplishment for me will be the negotiation and accomplishment of the merger with PennState," said Glenn, who has headed the law school since 1994.

?This was a major accomplishment, not only in terms of the difficulty of the task, but also in terms of its importance to both institutions,?? Glenn said in a news release issued by PennState.

Glenn cited no reasons for his decision to step down, but noted he has ?used up a great deal of energy during the past seven years.

"We are now almost finished tying up the various loose ends from the merger, the school is in great shape, and I think we are in a position to attract a new dean who not only will bring us a fresh supply of energy and enthusiasm, but also some fresh perspectives," he said.

Glenn couldn't be reached for comment yesterday.

A search committee to find a replacement will be formed shortly, the university said.

Glenn, who received a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1968, plans to return to full-time teaching at The DickinsonSchoolofLaw.

Dickinson, formerly billed as the nation's old independent law school, felt the impact of a national trend of declining enrollment in the early 1990s.

Meanwhile, PennState was one of only two Big Ten schools lacking a law school.

"Although early on I was very unsure whether the merger could be accomplished, after a fairly long period of becoming acquainted with each other, the two institutions entered into the merger with great enthusiasm," Glenn said.

PennState said the merger has resulted in a 35 percent increase in the number of law school applications and more than $12 million in private support since 1997.

"Peter [Glenn] has truly been the driving force behind the evolution of The DickinsonSchoolofLaw. He deserves most of the credit for the successful merger with PennState four years ago," PennState President Graham B. Spanier said.

Glenn has taught at law schools at the University of North Carolina, Washington and Lee University and the University of South Carolina and worked at a private firm in Cleveland for nearly 15 years.